World Press Photo announces 2013 contest winners

Swedish photographer Paul Hansen has won the World Press Photo 2013 award for his picture of a Palestinian family carrying two children who were killed in an Israeli missile strike to their funeral. The contest also awarded prizes in eight other categories ranging from Sports to Portraits.

Some of these images may be familiar from news coverage throughout the year, but they make a compelling and inspiring reminder of the exceptional level of photojournalism across the world.

World Press Photo of the Year 2013

The World Press Photo of the Year 2013 was awarded to Swedish photographer Paul Hansen his picture of a Palestinian family carrying two children killed in an Israeli missile strike being carried to their funeral.

Category Winners

Winners of World Press Photo 2013 awards were selected from over 100,000 images. Each of the eight categories had two first, second and third place winners -- one for a single image and one for a photo story series.

Rodrigo Abd's photo of a woman recovering from severe injuries she received when her house was shelled by the Syrian Army, won the first prize singles in the General News category.

Wei Seng Chen's photo of a jockey displaying relief and joy at the end of a dangerous run across rice fields, won first prize singles in the Sports Action category.

All the prize-winning photographs are assembled into an exhibition that travels to 45 countries over the course of a year, and will be published in a yearbook.

Nemanja Pancic's photo of little Milan Ponjiger who survived a fall from the sixth floor, but whose parents did not, won the first prize singles in the Observed Portraits category.

The entire collection of winning images and honorable mentions from the 56th World Press Photo Contest can be seen at the World Press Photo website and are well worth a look.

Paul Nicklen's photo series of Emperor Penguins demonstrating high swimming speed by releasing millions of bubbles from their feathers, won the first places stories in the Nature category.

Fausto Podavini's photo of 71-year-old Mirella who devoted her life to her ailing husband as his caregiver, won first prize stories in the Daily Life category.

If Hansen did in fact alter the lighting in his photograph it seems he puts himself on a slippery slope. If we allow "press" photographers the freedom to tweak the lighting for dramatic effect, where do we draw the line?

I couldn't agree more. In my opinion, Hansen finds himself on shaky ethical ground with doing this kind of work and somehow referring to it as "news" photography. Did you see what he did in Haiti? See http://wp.me/p2jfzo-2U

Thanks. Everybody here should read the page which link is given above by Jeff. It leads to a very interesting "story" that provides us a background that is particulary severe with Mr Hansen. Who decides to ignore it should not be allowed to enter a photography award jury.

If you checkout the winners website (http://www.paulhansen.se/) you will see he specializes in this kind of "augmented reality" of re-lighting his subjects. Personally its a bit too much for my taste, but I guess it makes for a more powerful image.

Leave the issue of showing children carried supposedly killed in a missile attack. Have any of you ever seen what bodies look like from the explosion? Their to clean, not a mark on the faces. The rigor mortise alone would horrify you. I tend to lean toward photos from these people are faked and usually the photographer has an agenda. I'm not incentive, my heart breaks knowing that children are caught up in war.

It is very unlikely that a faked photography would make it's way to the point where it won this award without it being found out. More probable, is that the death of children by an Israeli missile strike makes you personally feel uncomfortable to the point where you have to construct your own fantasy in order to reconcile your own beliefs and conscience with this image, just a guess.

@Leichhardt. I told you to take the children out of the equation. Obviously that blinds you from being objective, the two children are real, if they died from the blast, I would think we'd see injuries to the face. If they died from the concussion we may not see injuries but we definitely would see black and blueing. A mortician could clean that up but we are led to believe the children were picked up and displayed immediately. Another thing the bodies are wrapped in plastic, that to me suggests some time passed until a photographer could be found to take some pictures for the world to see. Maybe he was part of the deception and please don't say that's ridicules because staged phots have been around since the invention of the camera and photographers wanting a more sensation picture. After all the majority of the people seeing this are going to be horrified, their not going to take a closer look. Would you feel the same way if this photo was of two Israeli children?

The winning image is very powerful. I do understand that we have to be aware of death and suffering that happen in the world. And it pains me when i see images of children dying.. However, to me, it seems wrong to submit that photo for competition. I am not trying to impose my personal opinion on somebody else, but I don't think gaining fame or profiting in any other way from those moments of anguish and despair is the right thing to do. I may be mistaken, but I am just sharing my personal feelings here.

You are mistaken, entering a competition like this and winning with a photograph like this is an ideal opportunity to bring the issue to a larger group of viewers. Having read some of the responses to this photograph, it appears obvious that there are quite a few people here on the forum that are more than anything uncomfortable with the fact the the death of these children is attributed to an Israeli missile strike. I think its pretty low to accuse the photographer of a purely profit driven motive as well. There are much easier ways to make a dollar!

you are absolutely right. It is a political decision to ignore the 100,000 people died in Syria and to blame Israel of killing children when the Hamas is striking missiles on Israel. Arab Killing Arabs its OK.

@ ET2012, A political decision, by who? It's a photographic competition and the finalists and winners of the competition are covering a large range of issues from all over the world. You might want to check this link- http://www.worldpressphoto.org/awards/2013/spot-news/emin-%C3%B6zmen?gallery=6096Second prize went to a shot in Syria, so that blows away your little fantasy of the Syrian conflict being ignored doesn't it.

This photo looks fake to me. The lighting on the guy to the left is coming from his right side even though he's inches from the wall. Doesn't make sense. The lighting on the children is not consistent with the crowd.

It looks tone mapped, which I thought was taboo for photojournalism since it would be overprocessing.

This is the consequence of the anti-arab feelings that were spread all over the world after 9/11, exacerbated here by braindead Mitt Romney supporters who refuse to accept their defeat. Add some religious fervor to it and there you have it.The opponents, on the other hand, are left-wing potatoes who still see the world as they did back in 1968 and refuse to accept things have changed since their days in university. They're as narrow-minded as the right-wingers, but they feel culturally superior. Put these two groups against each other and the result is an escalade in radicalism. You don't approve of what Israel is doing to palestinians? You're a terrorist and an anti-semitic, maybe even a former Gestapo officer, who knows? You show sympathy for the israeli? You're a cold-blooded assassin.Now you know why this will never end. And don't try to bring anything sensible to this debate: it's no use. You'll be slayed by both camps.

Of course one has to remeber that these 'Arabs' were trained by the CIA which was all good and well when they were fighting 'on the side of the righteous'.It was only when they turned and bit the hand that fed them they became 'terrorists'.Strange world we live in.

It's true, Antony John, but if we go that far we'll eventually end up writing a book. Said book would begin with a chapter on the UK- and USA-backed interests of Standard Oil, BP and Shell in the Middle East and how they intersected with Theodor Herzl and other Zionists' legitimate aspirations towards a jewish state. It would be interesting to keep commenting on that, but it would be time-consuming and, frankly, a bit out of place. (Wasn't DPR about photography?)

I am amazed by the responses to this piece, most posters seem to be very sensitive about anything that shows Israel or the US in a negative way.......the truth hurts and denying it will do nothing to bring peace in a place which has been meddled with and manipulated for so many years.

I'm not anti Israel or US, but the current leadership of Israel do not want peace, if they did there would be, it's in their control but they chose to keep the status quo of conflict, sadly their attitude is no better than the apartheid regimes of South Africa before Nelson Mandela came to power.

"I'm not anti israel or US" then you rant goes on to blame Israel for all things. First, Israel responds and if the turkey Islamic fascist terrorists choose to hide among their people for cover IT'S THEIR FAULT. Secondly, anyone notice no pictures of the two biggest massacres in the world today? Namely The Congo and Syria.

Why would they do that, when they, the most xenophobic, racist and antisemitic people in the world, namely Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark, France, etc can ignore that and show a picture as they do.

Funny, how you easily manipulated people ignore the policies of those countries you endorse. Those countries I just mentioned are kicking Muslims out, closing borders and have been the locations of some of the worst antisemitism in the world.

Guess what, Israel is the ONE place all Jews are welcome and unlike the past will NEVER EVER allow their people to come under attack without doing whatever it takes to protect themsevles.

@ Priaptor,One would imagine that Israel should welcome all Israelis and not just the Jews?Or, like the deputy foreign minister in his interview with the BBC last year, is Israel only synonymous with Jews?

Neither am I anti US or Israel but the bloodshed has to stop. The Israeli view of of 'negotiations' is "What concessions have you Palestinians got to make because we're not offering any".A case in point is the visit of the Israeli PM to the US last year when he extended his middle finger and said to Obama "We're continuing our illegal (UN) housing in the occupied zone, what are you going to do about it?" The lack of backbone exhibited by the US in this situation is frightening to say the least.As the leading power in the world one has to wonder why the US continue to capitulate to Israeli will? Finance? Blackmail?The one thing history teaches us (other than it repeats due to the stupidity of mankind) is that the facts will eventually emerge.However, before someone corrects me, it's also true to say that history is written by the victors.

I am not sure what you are getting at BUT Israel has many non-Jews, including Arabs who live their peacefully. It was established as "Jewish Homeland" mainly to welcome any and all Jews to escape antisemitism.

Of course, as compared to most of Europe in particular, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, France, Denmark and the rest that purposely go out of their way, through their scathing antisemitism to politically expel Jews. Norway over the last decade has seen their Jewish population decrease from 10,000 to less than 700 over the last 10 years. This in contrast to over 1.5 million Arabs, or 21% of the total population of Israel.

I don't see any mass exodus of Arabs out of Israel. Quite the contrary.

Is Israel was supposedly a 'Jewish Homeland' then presumably the'd have been happy with their place in say Arizona?As for your comment about 'not understanding' then you answered this quaestion yourself did you not?My commenst should be read in the context within which they have arisen. There is much derission on the winning photograph simply because it portrays Israel in a bad light. If it had of been a picture of Syrian casualties then it would have been warmly praised by Israelis. The photograph is a powerful reminder of 'mans inhumanity to man'.Take it as such.

KP - Learn your history. Perhaps knowing who said 'yes' and who said 'no' to: a two state option or Carter's peace treaty would help you. Or Investigate Palestinian employment, personal, or housing rights in Israel v/s every other ME country. Maybe knowing what kind of country Lebanon used to be, who/what Lebanon let in because of who/what Jordan kicked out, and who/what Lebanon is now.

I would tell you all those answers, but I suspect you either know them or refuse them.

The winning photograph was chosen for political reasonsThere is a history of faked photos being created by Hamas working with local journalists and foreign ones, even with reuter's journalists (culprit now sacked).There is zero probability that mourners would walk through such a tight corridor displaying dead bodies openly as Islam has great respect for the dead and they would be buried immediately.I believe this diminushes the whole award which has now gone in the same direction as the Noble Peace prizeA real shame!

Yes, like the Israeli footage of the boarding of the Estelle which is widely known to have been heavily edited.Maybe the camera and video footage of the Estelle passengers may have won an award but sadly it all seems to have mysteriously 'dissappeared' having fallen into Israeli hands.When pointing fingers remember that 3 always point back at yourself.

Can you idiots keep your politics out of this? This is a PHOTO competition. Who gives a sh!t what the photographers' motivations are, political or financial? This is not the place for that, but AS USUAL, people can't help themselves.

It doesn't matter if the image has political aspect or not since I believe we are not politically involved in it. What I think we can do is truly appreciate the image the photographer risked to get it taken. Let the politics be handled by the "professionals". We're photographers, not politicians though.

I'm not sure how staged this photo was (funerals are planned) But hey, the famous IWO Jima shot of Joe Rosenthal was also staged.

Given this uncertainty, I would have preferred a more neutral title such as "Grief-stricken Mideast Funeral March", over either"Gaza Funeral ....children killed in an Israeli Missile Strike" or the opposite: "More Hamas Human Shield Casualties used in Propaganda photo"

How can Israeli forces overact when their citizens are being bombarded by misslesIts good that you acknowledge the human shield issue though.I wonder whether anyone will show pictures of the 10-20 civilians killed by Nato drone stikes in Afganistan, this week 9 women and children were killed in a single stike!

No, the photo doesn't get an award. The STORY gets an award. There are a dozen or more photos attached to this piece and many are "sharp." But sharpness is a criteria for pixel peeping forum dwellers, not professional photojournalists who are dodging bullets and watching people fall dead around then from mortar blasts.

I am sure nobody climbs through barbed wire unless it's life or death. I wouldn't question the photographer's judgement in not stopping to make sure that everyone was adequately impressed with the clarity of that photo. Clearly the judges didn't have a problem with it.

The woman carrying an infant, the group angst, the need to move quickly, the fear, was all communicated, quite effectively, in the photo you linked. I Think the out of focus quality as streetpix has pointed out is a bit inconsequential when looking at the entire series.

I would also add that this photo stands on it's own and is compelling enough to move most. He captured an extended family running in fear...unusual, no? For discussion's sake, what my eyes see.

I can't find the specific hypocrite comment I wanted to reply to. So I just paste it here for all of them.This picture was created for you. Terrorists told the photographer were to be. They knew children would die there. They launched there missiles with a remote control, from a populated building. Those children died just for your tongue Clucking. And as long as you blame Israel for it, they will continue to die. the Israelis don’t have other options. (no, they don’t consider die quietly to make you happy as an option) they already doing an insane effort to minimize causalities on both sides, including the development of missiles that stop their missiles. Do you know another country that shows such sensitivity to their enemy's civilians during a missiles attack on its own civilians?

Two dead children is a tragedy. Especially for those terrorists who wished for hundreds of dead children for their political profit. so continue to blame the only democracy in the middle east and think small as the terrorists want you to think.

Everybody hates Israel. What bothers me is that hate rubs off on the US because without us you wouldn't exist. For 30 years you people pursued a policy called "Make my enemy the enemy of the United States." That policy bore fruit on Sept. 11, 2001. Now we're fighting endless nonsense wars to promote the political will of Israel. The bitter irony is when your little KGB paradise finally collapses all the refugees will come to the USA....at the American taxpayer's expense.

Jedinstvo, first off, looked at your website, some nice images. Second, the Israeli Arab conflict it quite complex, with blood on everyone's hand. However, I find your post troublesome on many levels.First the statement of everyone hates Israel. India and China comprise nearly half of the world, and I think they are fairly Neutral about Israel. There are certainly strong sentiments in a few countries in Europe, with long history of antisemitism, which, coincidentally, Have rampant anti Muslim/Immigrant sentiments also. and of course much of Muslim country. Second, America's interest in the middle east is Oil and not Israel. As a reporter, you should know that. Sept 11 happened b/c Bin landen felt we are "dirtying" the Holly land, and the anger in Mid east, is mostly about our support of puppet governments and not Israel. Lastly, your post has a strong anti immigrant tone. Never hurts to have educated hardworking people come to live in US.Peace.

Yes. I am Sick of your hypocrisy. But I do understand you. After all, it is much more Rewarding to ignore the facts and logic and adapt the Arabs agenda. First they have oil, second, there are many more of them, third they are more scary and might kill you if you will not choose their side. but do me a favor and don't call yourself, a pacifist, human right fighter or peace lover, while you eagerly serve the cruelest terrorist agenda.

A homeless man, a relative of the village chief, is given a piece of your land, taken off you by force. Now he demolished the walls of your living room, adjacent to the house he built on 'your' land, and forced you out (by force, of course). You throw stones and he shoots you, killing your family and children. You complain to village chief, who in turn pretends sympathy, but instead gives money to this neighbor to renovate the living room you vacated.

Nice metaphor. Very accurate! Survivor=homeless. Buying land with money=taken by force. Bombing school busses=throwing stones. Some facts that might confuse you: there were always Jews in Israel. Palestinian state is a British invention. Before them – there were just Arabs and Jews. The British divided the region to artificial states like Palestine and Jordan. The UN divided Palestine into two states based on the demography. The Arabs are the first to use force. Unlike the Arabs, Israel do not aim to heart civilians.

Today There is an Israeli will to end this conflict by returning those territories. But there is no sane Palestinian regime that represents the so called Palestinians. There are only fanatics willing kill Israelis children, even if they have to sacrifice their own children doing so. Those children are victims of their Arabs dictators who afraid of peace. And those who justify them.

actually jedinstvo, Israel looses hugh orders with China that are cancelled by the US. Much more potentially then the military credits it gets from the US.The US had an arms boycott on Israel until 1973, therefore its most significant wars, in 1948 and 1967, were won without any US support.Whilst Israel is frends with the US, and particulalry its people, reflected in congress, and Us support is greatly appreciated, Israel is certainly not beholden to the US

Children are also dying in UK, US, NATO bombings in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq. Of course there is death in many other conflicts around the world. Thousands of Syrian children died this year by their own people. From some reason you never see images winning contests from these conflicts. I wonder if that has anything to do with the residence of most judges or some hidden agenda...

tragedy is always heightened by hostility inflicted from without (outside/externally) where predictability is unexpected and difficult to address/defend against.

much less so if the tragedy is by hostility inflicted within (inside/internally) to which any 'local' could capture more readily, and even routinely, if it is a persistent problem (expected/commonplace; unaddressed/neglected; something that could be defended against except if the internal culture lends itself against it)

I'd be curious to know who "Grand Reporter" is and why he joined DPR just today....it seems the Israel first crowd is in a big hurry to discredit the winning photo. Most of the world does not see Israel in the same light that Americans do....

The US is a large country with many differing attitudes toward Israel. It's a complex, and sad situation for sure, but it would be a generalization to claim that Americans and the US government have the same position on Israel.

US residents elected the government. Thus the US government speaks on behalf ot the US citizen.When the US condemns Israel as the rest of the world now does will people outside the US believe that the US are being neutral.

You might be interested to know that in free societies people are allowed to speak, comment, and state their beliefs without being tarred with a broad brush because of their ancestry. Apparently you haven't gotten the message yet. As for American support for Israel, you live in the bizzaro world where down is up and black is white - the vast majority of Americans are pro-Israel so get over it.

Despite all the bad stuff going on in the world, from global warming to authoritarian government to civil war to recession, it's probably the best time in history to be alive (for humans). Unrelenting gloom is unwarranted.

Sorry, no offence but..,"the difficult turbulent times we live in." have been going on for 2012++ years. I´ve seen it on the television news for som 40 odd years myself with the Vietnam war being the big thing. Sorry! Just had to say it.Ps. Capa´s photos of the landing on D-Day are the best "conflict photos" ever made. Unfortunately only 11 negs survived out of 4 rolls.

How can there be winners for war images? Judges sit in the comfort of their offices and decide the best pictures to depict suffering and the photographer wins prizes and gain fame? This is morally wrong. Winning is corrupting.

The Pulitzer prize, for example, is a political tool. One of the world's greatest irony was the Peace Prize that was awarded to Barack Hussein Obama, a prize so hurriedly put together for man who could hardly represent peace.

Some of the best war images and videos come from unsung heroes ... unknown photographers. Tragically the world needs winners ... it reflects on the fallen nature of man.

There is a Vietnamese saying that sometimes you just have to eat what is put in front of you and by that they don't mean a plate of mee goreng.

No one seems to see the dead kids. Totally psycho. And really a bit funny.

That is what the judges really wanted. Two dead kids so masterfully photographed that has 180 posters on a photography site examining it without hardly anyone commenting on the dead kids and their families and school friends. And the first prize goes to...

I will be kind to the occasion and call it some juvenile, primitive and convoluted self defence that manifests as hatred against the victims for being the only visible agents of ugliness.

Have we not seen several disqualifications in recent photo contests (Europe wildlife, UK landscape, Nat Geo) for too much processing? Powerful images here but way too much post processing for a PJ award, IMHO.

The disqualifications you mention were due to the submission of composite images, not for too much processing. Apparently, WPP assume post-processing is admissible - even if it leads to exaggeration, as in this case.

There is no processing in the picture of the men carrying the children other than the regular photoshop stuff. It's clearly lit with a flash held off to the left side of the frame. Nothing unusual about it at all. And it is a very powerful photo regardless of where it was taken.

Then think of the photojornalists who cover street repairs, police retirement banquets, independence day parades, youth basketball tournaments, or warehouse fires. Then there are the folks who photograph real estate, weddings, products, and graduates. All happy stuff.

I noticed the same thing recently in a listing of film student winners. All negative themes. I think it is a sign of the times. We are in a period of heightened negativity, most of it aimed at manipulation. I for one am tired of it.

This was a world press contest not a local paper initiative. This was why you did not see police chief banquets and independence parades. I am not sure what people were anticipating here. Hansen captured something we don't normally see, at least in the U.S press. When there is a picture like this of Palestinians there is frequently a barrage of complaints that the photographer/paper/journalist are being political or partisan. If you are puzzled at what I am talking about read this thread, papers deal with same attacks. Similar images exist of Aleppo, Kabul, Israel, we allow ourselves to consider the loss, the suffering, some of us pause, and we move on. With the Palestinians we turn the image into something else, a trick, a lie, an agenda etc... I think that is the reason Hansen won. There is little to deny in this photo and it connects us with what we look away from or worse what is kept from us. Just my two cents.

Defending one's population from Hamas missiles, murders, kidnapping and terrorism isn't a "war crime" except in the mind of those who justify those acts because it suits their political objectives - it's self preservation. Compared to NATO and US combat methods, the Israelis used extreme caution to limit civilian casualties in the face of an enemy that exploited civilians, hospitals, schools and journalists without regard to civilian casualties.

With tens of thousands of war dead in Syria - including thousands of Palestinian - the world's media and the apologists for Palestinian crimes will always try to shift the focus on the the rare casualties caused by - wait for it - Palestinian fanatics that require an Israeli response. It's pitiful that so many commentators at this site have bought into this nonsense - it shows that propaganda, bias, and racial hatred, especially anti-Semitism is alive and well.

@califleftyb: anti-semitism? Give me a break! Condemning Israel doesn't mean condoning terrorism, for God's sake! That's shallow, narrow-minded rhetorics. There's a middle ground called peace, but that will be impossible as long as Bibi Netanyahu, the Likud and the extreme right-wing rule Israel. The solution to the Israeli-palestinian conflict is deceptively simple: Hamas must be neutralized, Palestine must recognize the right of the Israeli to have their state and there must be a ceasefire; Israel must return to the boundaries defined by 1967's Oslo Treaty, stop building colonies and recognize the palestinian state. It would be that simple, but the man who came closer to achieve it - Yitzhak Rabin - was murdered by israeli religious fanatics. There are prople on both camps who aren't interested in peace.There's one thing I agree with you: what's happening in Syria must be denounced - and it is -, but it doesn't mitigate Israel's wrongdoings.

@draleks: I don't dismiss anything. Fanaticism is indeed a factor, but by the same token there are anti-arabs in Israel. There are extremists and religious, ultra-orthodox fanatics in Israel, and they are very influent. No side is absolutely right - but then again no side is completely wrong.As for me, if some people invaded and occupied my homecountry claiming that it was their promised land and I had to submit, I'd be rather p*ssed off, too... think of it!

Give you a break? Nope - the people who get to define who is and what is anti-Semitic are the Jewish people, and anti-Zionism is anti-Semitic plain and simple. I measure the moral character of the person I'm speaking to on that basis: if you lie about Israel, if you cover it with bias, then you are an anti-Semite. If you're prejudiced against Israel, then, you're against the Jews.

I don't consider you one simply because you are ignorant of the facts, as you've demonstrated in your post. That is a matter of education.

Arabs never want peace never did.The world is strangely quiet when the Arabs bomb civilian buses,shopping areas,tourist areas,or lobbing rockets into civilian areas. Israeli's never try for the civilian population. The Arab rulers have to keep the focus and hate on Israel while they plunder their countries riches and keep the people, poor and ignorant without jobs or a decent economy. Look what Israel did in 50 years.Imagine what the Arabs could do if all the money from oil states was used to educate, create jobs and infrastructure, instead of stealing the riches and concentrating on hate to distract the population.Do you ever see award winning photo's of the men women and children the Arabs kill? Of course not, because the Israeli's don't parade their dead through the streets.Regardless of how much restraint Israel shows the world is still largely anti-semitic. Just as the world did not care what was going on in Germany, no one cares what atrocities the Arabs do against Israel

califleftyb : "defined by 1967's Oslo Treaty"?????? Your knowledge of history is so poor. The Oslo Treaty was signed in 1993. 1967 Egypten (who until then had occupied the Gazastrip), Syria (who bombed Israel regularly from the Golan Heights) and Jordan (who until the had occupied the West Bank, did you know that??) tried to destroy Israel. And they lost the war. Not only the war, but also land they had occupied before (and no UN resolution condemned then). So Israel gained land in a war defending itself. Too bad for those who lost the war. You cannot start a war, loose it and then also expect to get the land back. The Palestinians supported this war. The fact that the Palestinians are "weaker" than the Israelis does not imply that they are right. They are wrong and Israel only survives because it's stronger.

You must understand the context of Paul Hansen's photo and how it was taken. First of all Hansen was not alone in the street and encountered this funeral, rather there was a mob of photographers collected together and the funeral procession arranged and then directed toward the photographers - that is how it worked in Gaza, photographers are not "free agents" wandering alone, they have Hamas "minders" who strictly control the situation. That is also the reason Hansen was using a 16mm lens, and why there are multiple light sources.

If you doubt this then you don't understand the competitive world of international news photography. Read this story critical of Hansen and the mob of photographers that create these types of images for "emotional content" that may or may not necessarily exist. Google prisonphotography.org +brouhaha +"paul hansen" (warning for content) you will understand how this Gaza shot was taken, and why it is more propaganda then news.

califleftyb, whoever you are - have you ever worked as an international photojournalist? Have you ever been to Gaza or personally known anyone who has worked there? What actual evidence do you have to justify your assertions? Until you document your claims with solid evidence, you are repeating hearsay.

How is asking questions and asking for evidence suggestive of an "attack"? You have presented no evidence to back up your assertions about Hansen's Gaza photo - probably because you have none. It appears you also have zero experience working as an international photojournalist.

Mr. Lynch, your continuous attack on me is self evident to anyone who reads these comments, not surprising as I see from from your web postings you appear to be an Iranian apologist with an ax to grind against anyone who challenges your anti-Israel meme. I suspect your modus operandi is to attack with vigor anyone who dare speak up for the truth, that may wash with the useful idiots of a college campus but falls short with me. Shoo.

"Useful idiot" on a college campus or not, I've spent plenty of time in Israel and have always thoroughly enjoyed it. I even did a little work for an Israeli photojournalism company at one time, which was a great experience for which I have the fondest memories. Your belittling, uninformed attitude in this instance is most unfortunate.

Daniel Rodrigues, the guy who won the Daily Life, 1st prize singles, was until recently a photo journalist. Because of the cuts we are experiencing in Portugal, he was fired, and had to sell all his gear to subsist with is family. How weird is that?

I'm portuguese. I'm shocked with the news that Daniel Rodrigues is going through such hardship, but not surprised. Probably the editors prefer to pay some bucks to a teenager with an iPhone rather than paying a photojournalist for a full-time job. I must say, however, that not all newspapers go through this cost-cutting strategy. I regularly buy a newspaper ("Público") that employs some of the finest portuguese photojournalists. It's a real pleasure to browse it and consistently find beautiful, artistically-oriented pictures in it.It is more a question of mentality than of shortage of money, really. Some understand that quality pays off over the long haul; others don't.Incidentally, Daniel Rodrigues took his photography degree at the same school I attended my workshop on photographic techniques two years ago. This is something I should feel proud of - even if my pictures look rather poor in comparison. The Instituto Português de Fotografia of Porto is a fantastic photography school.

First, how many hundreds of photos of crying palestinians hasn´t the world already seen? What´s the point with this one?Second, Hansens photo really looks weird. Are the people and the background really from the same place? Definitely looks like a PS manipulation of some kind.Verdict: CRAP!!

My first impression was toward PS too. This picture was heavy post processed and that's not what I like in this kind of photography. The effect - artistic and emotional - is cheap. I don't understand the jury's verdict.

On a pure objective point of view, I wonder how this picture has been declared to be the best of the 100 000 pictures submitted to this contest. The best one on 100 000 ? Really ?

By the way here are some criteriums of two members of the jury exposed:1) Dominique de Viguerie: for this person, the big winner produced a "cinematographic" and "universal" picture. Is cinema, photo ?2) Santiago Lyon: "A good picture must strike the spirit, the guts and the heart. Some, like this one, are able to do the three at the same time"(words translated from french: http://tinyurl.com/axpu3ad )

That's the perfect illustration of what I said previously (near the bottom of this thread of discussion) it's to say that that sorts of jury are just wanting for "photographic-hamburgers" (the hamburger being a food ready&easy-to-eat that associates almost every good tastes in a mouthful). Well, well... the time is soon for the roman circus to be back !

so, according to you: weird=PS'd=crap. yeah, real logical and convincing. let's take a closer look at what you call "weird." the photo has been burned in on the top center and left, but the right wall is left mostly untouched, or so it appears. the overall scene is slightly desaturated, and I don't see any obvious flash fill. what I'm guessing is "weird" to you is the odd density shift between what would be a normally bright sunlit background (center/left top) and what should be a darker foreground. the foreground is getting fill from that right wall which adds to a slightly "filled" look.

burn in, dodge, de-saturate. I wouldn't call that PS'd, but you sure can.

@rufusm44"and I don´t see any obvious flash fill"Ok! So you don¨t see what others are talking about. Furthermore, newspaper photographers, of course, never use flashes. Ok! Fine by me. We live in a democracy with freedom of thought and speech.

what disturbs my eye and feelings is the way those very sad moments are represented : like a fashion photo - so much PP is done to make the image look as fake and stylish, almost "eye candy" - a child's death and war times are nothing like that -

at least, b&w and kodachromes prints showed a better reality of the moment, this just looks wrong.

fashion? because... you just think so. I don't see fashion, but using basic PJ darkroom techniques to portray what he thought was fitting is a bit of a far cry to conclude it's fashion. also, "kodachrome prints," what are you talking about? kodachrome is a slide film, and that's a positive, not a negative. you could have done type R printing, but that was always a stupid choice. also, kodachrome was know for very strong colors, mainly reds. this is from mccurry: "...it's going to be a brilliant color photograph. It had a great color palette." that's kodachrome.

lol thanks for lecturing me about pp techniques and film. (print=in magazines and paper, not printfilm) If you find that overdoing it is the way to go with PP, especially with documentary photos, many will find this look utterly popular and not suited to represent the true aspect of misery and death. Indeed, this image looks more like a fashion pastiche where the single goal was to make it appealing and eye popping to the common taste.

Maybe Sony paid bribes to the judges in order to make Canon be accused to have bribed the jury. Plainly and simply machiavellian ! I imagine that when Sony will have succeeded in torpedoing Canon, the next to win this contest will be Nikon. And so on !

what? that's so inane! seriously. it's about people, not technology. wake up. just because you need a tech shot straight to your artery, doesn't mean world press has to stoop to your low view of photography story-telling just to appease an idiot like you.

you're the idiot, technology doesn't make itself. Synthetic biology, metabolic engineering, new powers systems are the product of great minds and worthy of attention. Advances in disease prevention are more interesting than a bunch of bigots blowing each other up.

The obvious message from the schmucks who judge this garbage is, the more death, injury, suffering, anguish, sadness, violence and despair you can rub the noses of the masses in, you win! What a pathetic waste of digital film.

because such contests that judge PJ work is about suffering, you get offended? maybe living in your ivory tower has allowed you to think that the world is a wonderful place, but their work helps us all, especially in industrialized countries, realize that there still is mass suffering, and it's a product of OUR political and social positions in the world. my not doing anything, that "moving train" we live on still oppresses countless people that the media doesn't report. truth would be very painful to you, but just seeing it in a contest makes you think it's over-wrought; therefore, you need more happy shots. BS!

Digital Film is street talk for memory cards. DUH! According to Rand Thinktank, over 97% of events worldwide are positive and inspiring. Those with mental BO such as yourself should focus on the remaining 3%. I don't live in an ivory tower, nor do I choose to live in a septic tank with those like you who believe focusing on images of suffering make you and the world a better place. BS Squared.

Strangely clinical is the picture of Hansen.Looks like a movie poster or advertising.It looks also like a HDR or like there were multiple flash.It looks like a well-considered work of PhotoshopThe authenticity is missing.The blue skies exposure relative to the people exposure in the alley does not work, too much real life difference to produce this picture. Something is wrong. There are white parts between poles in the background that do not contain sky. So a fake sky?But what bothers me the most are the children. I might even like to argue that they probably are not dead at all, the dead child's face is not expressive, when they are dead the skin color is gone.The boy of the front looks too much alive for me cause I´ve been working in several wars and seen too many dead people.The dead bodies should be all covered in islam.The foreground area is darkened to black with Photoshop.Is this where photojournalism is going? Propaganda produced by those in the pic? Fog of war?

War photography is about documenting events. Which this fits. I guess that color is due PP, cause most HDR stuff (I guess Nik HDR Efex?) does increase color saturation aswell (obviously it can be avoided). Sky is result of that "HDR" too.

That picture would probably work better as classic BW than color.

Making authentic looking photo with digital camera is rather hard (you should know). Its simply not film.

HDR? try burned in. it shows all around the edges of the buildings next to the sky. multiple flashes? try brick wall backfill... (btw, flash is ok to use in PJ work unless it's unwise because of the situation). he might of shot the flash against the left brick wall to help fill, and that would add a bit of color shift since that wall isnt' neutral. also, if it was HDR, it would have to be a single shot, meaning it wouldn't matter since the photo still captures a single moment but with greater light latitude. fake sky? huh? try burning in. foreground is burned in. pretty standard for, um, like since before the 20th century! ignorance is not helping you.

rufusrm44 seems not very active since 2008 and now suddenly needs to reply with anger to every fair critique on this photo. (that looks more like a Hip Hop poster indeed)You are a funny one rufus, no one knows proper pp techniques as good as you do - do you have any friendship link with this photographer perhaps ?

While I feel sorry for loss of innocent lifes, the role of journalists in the conflict is questionable. Here is the remarkable work of a young Italian photographer named Ruben Salvadori. Ruben's project "Photojournalism Behind the Scenes won Milan's prestigious Photodreaming Contest organized by the Forma Foundation.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_Dx9LjnQOY

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